semâ

I am bewildered by the magnificence of your beauty
and wish to see you with a hundred eyes.
I am in the house of mercy
and my heart is a place of prayer.

Jalāl ad-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī

What a delight to experience a semâ in person! I have to admit that my first exposure to this centuries-old tradition was a 2006 Bollywood movie. But take a look! Wouldn’t this be on your bucket list?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb1yxNwfu-

Come, come, whoever you are,
Wanderer, idolater, worshiper of fire,
Come even though you have broken your vows a thousand times,
Come, and come yet again.
Ours is not a caravan of despair.